Six months later, Bellamy House reopened as Rose & Vale. Judith lived safely near the coast and testified at Celeste’s trial. Celeste received a lengthy prison sentence for kidnapping, fraud, assault, and conspiracy.
Adrian and I did not pretend twenty stolen years could be repaired quickly. We began with Sunday coffee. He brought photographs of my mother; I showed him the neighborhoods where I had survived.
On opening night, I stood beneath the restored chandelier in a simple black dress, my crescent birthmark visible.
A young waitress asked whether I wanted makeup to cover it.
“No,” I said. “Some marks prove what was taken. This one proves I came back.”
Inside, my staff laughed around tables once ruled by fear.
For the first time in my life, I was not waiting for someone to return.
I was finally and completely home.
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